THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 1881.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 28 January 1881, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 1881.

TeCS West Coast railway scheme has been accelerated ano>her step, and it appears as though interest in the agi" titionwere being fully sustained in Chrifltcburch. ; The proposal as it was originally laid before the public by the promoters was to simply construct the line by private enterprise, and' then turn the undertaking over to the Government, to be worked under the general railway system of the colony, but this suggestion does not appear to have met with the approbation of the East Coast Press, It was on the Lone hand urged against it on behalf of the Government that as the line could not under the most favorable conditions be expected to pay its way for some time after completion, the Government in acceding to it would be only saddling itself and the colony with a new burden ; and on the other hand the opponents of the scheme— that is the advocates of the Otago central line*— affected to see in the proposal only a desire on the part of the promoters to fasten on to all the most valuable land along the route, quite regardless of what the future of the railway might be. It can hardly be denied that, however, wide of the real truth, the arguments were not without a & rtain semblance of plausibility. In the first place, if the promoters of the work had full confidence in the bona fides of the undertaking and the cer» tainty\of its creating and main taioibg •/remunerative traffic, what show of reason could there possibly be in their desire to bequeath to the colony the advan 1 age thus accruing? Of course it will be accepted here, as it no doubt has been in Cbristcburch, that the main object of the projectors simply v?as to get the line built as speedily as possible, not as a direct money making concern, but for the indirect advantages which it is not disputed must flow from its accomplishment. But those straining after arguments against tbe under' taking could easily refuse to see it in this light. The Otago people who are ever on tbe watch to cruel any move-* ment having for its object the opening of railway communication witb the West Coast, otherwise than by their pet Southern route, have not been slow to seize upon this particular branch of the proposal in order to throw a wet blanket upon the whole scheme. Hence we find the basis upon which it was first proposed to initiate the company characterised as a *' clumsy imitation of Mr Macandrew's former Tapauni Branch method." The promoters in Christchurch have, however, since completely cut away this argument, for they now not only propose to construct the line, but to work it after completion, tli us relieving the Government of all apprehension of the railway be* coming a drag upon the colony in the event of its not proving self-support-ing, and at the same time affording the country a substantial assurance of their faith in tbe soundness of the enterprise. Since this altered programme was made .public* a meeting has been held in Cbmtcburok and as is elsewhere stated, a powerful provisional committee has been formed for the purpose of taking the preliminary steps towards launching the company. Shares to the value of £50,000 will require to be taken op before the sanction of Parliament can be asked to the undertaking, and it is said, tbat no difficulty whatever is likely' to be experienced in placing tbat number upon the market, indeed, the bulk of them bare been al« ready subscribed for. As the scheme is now prevented to the public, no objection can be raised to it. Tbe colony will receive from the promoters tbe only indemnity necessary to eiact, and the land which is required along the route is the reasonable price which the colony is asked to pay for the carrying out of this great and important colonial work. Tbe land as it now figures upon the Government papers is almost without value. If jut up to aac* tion to«morrow, or even in ten years hence, unless intersected by railway, the utrong probability is tbat it would not find a purchaser. Unleased, unused, and inaccegjrible'as it is is it* present situation

it is of no morn value to (he state than arc the slopes of Mount Cook. It is beyond doubt that it it not within the resources of the Government to undertake the work, nor under the best of circumstances is it likely to be for very many years to come, ife?er, so t hut unless the country is opened up for settlement, something in the way in which this company proposes to do, it will probably remain as it is until the crack of doom. For every acre which the company will take* tangible value will be given to thousands, s> tha pan ing with such land is not in anyway like parting with money. In ordinary sales of crown estate, Government are content to take a fixed upset price for the land, and in this inslar.ce the value which the railway will give to land alone: the line trill, very much more than represent a reasonable upset price tor that which the company ask as a bonus for construe* (ion. As to the principle of granting land For railway construction, ifc is one which has the merit of long sanction and is peculiarly applicable to the circumstances of this colony, for the reasons that such works have now passed altogether beyond the resources of the Government, and therefore must be done by private en*' terp rise *' iev are lo c < * one a " # ie proposal whiclt has now been madam re« sped to the West Coast Kailway^f* undoul tedly the roost shipshape and bu«i* ness like one that has yet been presen ed, little Soubt that they will succeed in car* rying an empowering 'Act through the, ooming Parliament, and so obtain all the accessions they require.

There was a sitting of the Magistrate's Court yesterday before W. H. Re veil, Esq., R.M A man named Barton was remanded until to-day upon a charge of stealing ' £55 from a man named Patrick Carey, The in* formation against John Bell, of Larry's Cr£ek, charging him with the larceny of a number of article* belonging to David McGhhey, was dismissed, the evidence not supporting the charge. Smith and Barkley t. Mace, claim for £16, judgment for the amount. In the Warden's Court the case of Kiernan and M'Carthy t. Cftsler for adjustment of mining partnership accounts was adjourned until to-day. An application by Mr P. Brennan on behalf of the Hope* ful Company, for a special claim to include the three leases at present held by the Coma pany, was adjourned till next Court day, to enable a surrey of the ground to be made. Tbe following alluvial rights were granted} Hi 0. Butler, water«race Alfred River; G-eorge Fraser, head and tail raoe» Jonathan Flat. Alfred River, Robert Smith, water* race, tributary of Alfred River; William Heaphy. protection of Creek claim for two months, to enable applicant to cut tail race. The Court then adjourned. Tbe latest news from the Ljell is very satisfactory, The Alpine stone is improving in quality, with a good supply ani the quotation of shares shows an advance on lately ruling prices. The Golden Fleece Company have finished the repairs to, the engine-ahed, machine, and battery, the whole having during the part fortnight undergone a complete and thorough overhaul. The shod has been reroofed with iron t a new funnel hi* re* placed the iOld^one ; new stampeKsboes. false^bottoms, and other additions have been made to render the plant efficient in every respect. Crashing was resumed yes* terday morning, and everything works smoothly. All the paddocks and passes are full of good stone, and it is expected tbat the company will have an uninterrupted run of dividends for some time to come. 0 The newly elected School Committee met after the poll had been declared on Wednesday, at the school buildings. Messrs Jones, Preshaw, Stevenson, and Aikan, being present. Messrs Presbaw and Jones being re-elected Chairman and Secretary, respectively. It was resolved to hold the monthly meetings of the committee in future at Mr Jones' office. The meeting then adjourned, We regret to learn that Mr Beche's daughter died on Tuesday night last. It was Btated in our last issue that the child sustained injuries through falMng into a hole, bet wo haye since ascertained that in this we were altogether in error. The child was playing in the garden, when she fall down on the footpath, but it was not thought at the time that she had sustained any injury whatever, after a little time, however, she complained of pain in one of her legs, and Dr. Thorpe was called in, but inflammation of the brain super* vened, and ended in death as stated. The funeral took place yesterday, and was very largely attended. A public meeting of persons interested in forming a Joint Stock Company for the purpose of constructing the West Coast railway was held recently. The Committee appointed at the previous meeting reported that it would be necessary to raise £50,000 locally before floating a company could be hoped for, and that from the partial canvas made they had every reason to believe that amount could be raised without difficulty. A very large and influential provisional directory comprising the leading merchants, professional men, and members representing the district were appointed with a view to floating the company. The prospectus is to be issued when £50,000 are raised, The Yass Courier (N.S.W.) is responsible for the following ;—Otie of the deputy returning offio9rs at tbe late Yass election was neatly deprived of his vote. He was known to be adverse to the late member, and at 8 o'clock on the morniug of the day for taking the poll took up his position at the side of the table, with the ballot box in front of him. His copy of the Electoral Act, of the electoral roll, and his other offioial papers, were duly arranged, and then his pile of ballotpapers was displayed. Having adjusted his spectacles, he in the presence of his polNclork and scrutineers, be lifted one of the ballot papers, remarking that his own would be tbe first vote that day. The printed paper was carefully pressed, and with due solemnity a pencil was used to draw a mathematically straight line through the word 9 " Michael Fitzpatiiok, Esquire.' 7 This done the iax.

■^ f . portant docilment was neatly folded op and deposited in the box. Up to 4 o'clock the voting sbwiy went pn, there not haying been seventy totes altogether recorded, when the doors were closed and the scrutiny commenced. It was then discovered much to the deputy's chagrin* th it his own ballot-paper was the only 'informal document in the box. He^wt^rgotten to initial tbe paper, and was therefore out of the count. Just as Mr Ollivier had commenced the opening of the case for the plaintiff in Wallace V. Martin, at the Supreme Court this morning, (says the Post,) and was about to resume his seat a respectably attired man at the back of the Court, moved, no doubt, by tbe learned counsel's forensic eloquence, was unable to choke back the " hear, hear," which rose to his lipa. Startled by the interruption, Mr Justice Richmond, pricked up his ears, and after obtaining time to recover his surprise, iudignantly exclaimed, " Show me the man trho had the impertinence to make that remark, and 1 will certainly commit him for conteitlpt." Anxious to earn the Judge's commeifffotion, a zealous policeman soon " spotted,'* tbe rash individual, and placing his hand epJ^the man's shoulder, said. v Here he is, yoiifc'llonor.*' Judge Biohmond — " Take vim into custody till the ri- * At a theatnc|a^erformance irt San Francisco, some time- ago, a baby in the gallery [ began to screech so loudly that the actors i were quite thrown out. The manager, to frown the child's cries, bade the orchestra strike up a loud -tune, whereupon a miner, I who had just come in, shou'ed out : " Here, I say, stop them cus-ed fiddles ; I haven't heard a baby's voice far seven years." Tbe annual dinner given by the proprietors | of the Argus to their principal employes, took place at Scott's Hotel on the 18th ult. About sixty gentleman connected with the literary and commercial departments of the Argus, the Australasian, and the Sketcher were present. Mr Q-owen Kran*, a? representative trustee of the late Mr £. Wilson occupied the chair; Mr J*. S. Johnston and Mr Wm. Spowers filling the vice-chairs. The toast of" Tbe Editors of the Argot and of the Australasian " was responded to by Messrs. F. W. Haddon and H. Gullet,, The Sketcher was also toasted, and acknowledgements made by Messrs. T. Carrin /ton and J. B. Ashton. Mr Haddon propoied "Continued prosperity to the Argus, and long life and success to the proprietors and the representatives of the proprietors." The toast, was d»-unk with enthusiasm, and was responded to by Messrß. Johnston and Spowers. The latter gentleman mentioned that, having had occasion to inquire as to the length of service of the employes of the office in various departments, he found that the ayerage w*s nineteen years, a fact which spoke for itself of the good relations which have subsisted, between the propyiefora and their assistants. A number of other toasts haying been disposed of, the party- broke up, after spending a most enjoyable evening. The Government haye received very full telegraphic reports of the, recent Parihaka meeting; w$L ft'ji^ and fohu's spe|C^e», :- t£ surplusage, the telegram, isito the following effeot.— The meeting was attended by about 1000 or 1200 Natives, women* and children included, Te Whiti's speech consisted of much the same material as usual. He declared that his word was unchanged, and that all he had said be - fore still held good. He claimed that his words were already in course of fulfilment, and used some figurative language about mothers rejoicing over their newly-born children, which apparently had reference to the release (expressed as " resurrection " or " new birlh ") of the Native prisoners, several of whom were present. He still spoke with soreness about the land being surveyed and sold, but added that the land always had been a Bource of trouble, and always would be. He reiterated bis declaration that there should be no more fighting, but asserted that the Europeans, notwithstanding their supe* riorifcy in numbers and strength were being worsted by the patient endurance of the oppressed Maoris, whom they oould not provoke to phytitial combat. He positively ordered i his followers to persevere in the course of patent endurance, promising that if they did so all should yet be well with them. Tohu followed in a similar strain, earnestly impress* ing on his hearers the necessity of preserving the strictest obedience to the injunctions of Te'Whiti, who alone was able to save them. Wireum Kaiene Tuwhakaruru writes to the Normanby Star, as follows :—•" Sir,— this is my word, which I wish made- public, with reference to Wai mate. We have no wish to have trouble witb those persons who have bought land. It is the wish of Te Whiti to maintain peace between your rice and our race, and I see no cause for trouble on Waimate. There may be trouble if the cattle of the patebas are nfct looked after and break into our cultivations, or if people of your race when our people are awsy at Parihaka, steal food from our cultivations, or take our tame pigs from the vicinity of our dwellings. It is for you to see that those tilings are not dove to lead to trouble. If pigs are doing damage to your land 9, it is right that you destroy them, or you can buy the pigs and take them away. A great many have been sold for one shillinj each to those who want to cart them away. On the 7th January a great many of our people will be leaving to go to Parihaka j only the very old will be left behind. It is for you to prevent your people giving us cause for annoyance and trouble, by caution* ing Europeans to respect the property we leave behind us in our absence." The Maryborough Chronicle (Queensland) report;) an exceedingly painful occurrence at Muna Creek, near Miva, On December 21, a woman named Gesch, wife of a selector, left her house to drive some cattle out of a paddock, leaving on the verandah her little son, named Willie, aged two years. She returned in about 10 minutes, and missed the child. A vigorous search by tbe neighbours proving futilo, the assistance of the police was Bought, and mounted-constable Dawson made a thorough examination of the loc&'it y

All hope was abandoned after four days, hunting, and the bereaved parents were compelled to resign themselves to the terrible belief that the child had been stolen off tbe verandah by dingoes and eaten. This conclusion is strengthened by the circumstance that only two days before some dingoes in the neighbourhood, apparently unusally bold and ravenous were seen to steal pigs and even a large goat, in every instance bearing their prey awey al a rapid rate. On the day on which the child was lost two dingoes were prowling round (Jesch's salection. The unfortunate little victim wore merely light clothing, was bootless, and, as he suffered from a sore foot, which prevented his walk i ing on a rough ground, it is impossible that he could have strayed away from the house. The following characteristic speech was delivered by Mr Simonsen on Tuesday evening, when the company made their last appearance in Dunedin : — Ladies and Gentlemen, — I am not going to make a speech, for two reasons —first, that I never make speeches aud second, that I am very bashful. [Laughter] On behalf of Madam 0 , 1 desire to thank you for' your attendance this evening. I may as well tell you that I have travelled nearly all over the civilised world, but Dunedin i« the will narrate to you. Some years ago I went to Barbadoes, in the West ludies. I took with me Mr Thalberg. Perhaps some of you in Dunedin have never heard of him, bnt he was one of the finest piano players in the world. Mr Reichardt, the composer of •' Thou art so near and yet so far." a very fine tenor ; my wife, who can sing a little ; and myself, who could play the violin much better than I do now, because I have had little or no practice of late, It was one of the best concert companies I ever travelled with. Now. Mr Thalberg took out with him from Europe letters of introduction to a prominent man at Barbadoes — a Scotchman by the way (laughter)— whioh ne delivered on arrival there. We gave several concerts, bat that gentleman never honored us with his presence. Well, in taking a stroll one day Mr Thalberg and I chanced to meet this gentleman, and naturally we inquired how it was that he bad not been to see us. He replied, " Oh, my wife sing?, my daughter plays the piano, and I play tho fiddle nayaelf, and we don't want to hear you ; but if you will come up to my house and take dinner with me on Sunday I shall be very pleased.' Now, as a rule, I object to going out to dinners, because I like to have my meals at my hotel and pay for them, but as he was very pressing we went. We had dinner ; and immediately afterwards hi* wife sang, his daughter played, as ho did himself. Such singing aud such playing. Then turning to us he said, *• We should be delighted to hear you play," but I replied that we were not in tbe habit of playing for our dinners." (Laughter.) This brings me to what I intended to say. I have been in your town and heard not tbe opera of II Maritana j" but yes, I will call it M Mary Turner." sußg most wretchedly by amateurs —yet, all their cousins, aunts, and sisters went to hear it, and the theatre was crowded I have brought to this town not an indifferent company, I say it with all humility, it is the best that can be collected together in all Aus« traliai we have put on the operas pretty fairly, I think, and you know what our audiences have been. Some persons— jackasses I should call them — have been writing to the papers protesting that our prices have been too high. Of course, it is easy for a " star " surrounded by a lew indifferent actors to play to four, two, and one shillings ; but no opera company can Jo so. He has only a few people to pay j I have over forty. And I say it without fear of contradiction that the prices I charged in Dunedin. I remember the Lyster and Allen prices. However, I have plenty of money to lose, and it does not matter (loud cheers) ; but I reckon that you will not see ray company again. [Repeated applause and some hiding ] On Mr Simonsen returning to tbe stage, he said ; " I had forgotton to say that I am deeply thankful to the press of this city for thejkindly way that they have noticed us. And to the few of the publio who have consistently sup* ported us throughout our season we are indeed grateful. In the circle and stalls we have seen night after night tbe same faces encouraging us. That is the kind of appreciation that we as artists do feel ; and. believe me in all sincerity I say to, that to these people we shall ever be grateful for their sympathetic support, [Loud applause.]